2 killed in separate accidents on the 405 Freeway

A motorcyclist from Hawthorne and a pedestrian were killed in separate accidents on the 405 Freeway, authorities said Friday.

In a crash on Thursday, a motorcyclist who was straddling lanes was killed in a collision with a vehicle on the 405 in Culver City, the California Highway Patrol said.

The crash, on the northbound freeway north of the Ballona Creek overpass, was reported to the CHP at 4 p.m. Thursday, according to the CHP.

The motorcyclist was publicly identified only a 52-year-old Hawthorne man riding a 2002 Suzuki.

He was straddling between the left lane and the car-pool lane when he was involved in a crash with a 40-year-old man driving a 2013 Dodge, according to the CHP.

The motorcyclist was ejected from his bike. Paramedics rushed him to Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, where he was died from his injuries.

It was not immediately known if the motorist in the Dodge, a resident of Albuquerque, N.M., was injured.

In the second accident, a 60-year-old man who was walking on the southbound 405 near Torrance was fatally injured Friday when he was struck by a car, according to the CHP.

The fatality was reported at 8:48 p.m. north of Vermont Avenue, said CHP Officer Tony Polizzi. The No. 2, 3 and 4 southbound lanes were closed after the accident and were expected to remain closed for at least two hours to allow for an investigation, he said.

It was unclear how the man ended up walking on the highway, Polizzi said